Sungai Pinang Food Court

My Ratings: 3 Stars

Cuisine: Street Foods

Location: Corner of Jalan Sungai Pinang and Jelutong Highway

Mainly non halal. Halal food available.

RM5-10 per person

Newly opened on 11 June 2009, this food court is quickly gaining popularity as the lastest and hippest food court around town for dinner although it is open for lunch too. The place serves a variety of street foods that you can think of. One striking element of this place is all the stalls have colourful and pictorial signboards like no other place I have been. Also the waiters are dressed in Hawiian shirts and straw hats and to provide a level of cooling and comfort for its quests, it has lots of mist generators. In fact it has a resemblance of Coffee Island and Bali Hai allong Gurney Drive. This is because they all have the same owner.

I ordered laksa (RM2.50) and for something more nutritious, I added a bowl of black chicken herbal soup and a bowl of yam rice (RM8.50). The laksa looks nice but I lack the omphh. I found it a little diluted and borderline tasteless. However, to my delight I found my herbal black chicken soup (No. 6) is delicious and sweet.. You can choose if you want to have your soup with plain rice, yam rice and a selection of noodle types, Amanda ordered the pork ribs with 5 herbs (No. 8) with yam rice (RM6.50). Delicious too! That's two strikes! The black chicken herbal soup is stronger so it may not be everyone's liking. So to be safe, order the clear soup base.

Just as I was about the finish, I went around the food court complex to familiarize myself with all the dishes that were being prepared. One thing for sure is that you will be overwhelmed by the number of choices. Finally I settled for some fried belacan chicken and more specifically fried chicken butts/tails. I really missed the succulent, fatty butts and I used to eat it like tens of them a time but nowadays it is getting expensive coz I am not the only one crazy about stuffing my face with chicken butts. For four pieces now cost RM2. Yikes! like eating gold. However, the belacan (shrimp paste) from this stall is not strong and favourful enough. So my chicken butts is just OK for me (failed to gastromically climax me).

Great to place to eat. Lots to choose from but parking is limited, so you really have to work hard at finding one

Kim's Balik Pulau Laksa

My Ratings: 4 Stars

Cuisine: Street Foods

Pork-free

Location: Lam Kong Cafe (Junction of Jalan Besar, Balik Pulau and Jalan Tun Sardon - No. 67. Next to Balik Pulau Old Market)

Open 11:00am - 4:00pm. Closed on Wednesdays

from RM4.00 per person

This laksa stall in Balik Pulau has a lot of history behind it. Originally ran by a sweet old lady named Khoo who also supplied the rice noodles and laksa gravy to other stalls in town. She started selling laksa at her house No. 100 Jalan Besar (just a few shoplots down the down from the current location). Her house is now a Balik Pulau heritage house was built by Kapitan Cina Chee who is the great great grandfather of Madam Khoo.

Then Madam Khoo's friend and neighbour, Mrs Ewe gradually learnt the art of laksa making from Madam Khoo. Mrs Ewe together with her husband Ewe Chooi Guan in 1970s eventually decided to set-up their own laksa business in its current location where they served Assam Laksa and Siamese Laksa for 30 years until they retired in 2004 and their business is taken over by its current owners brother and sister pair of John and Anne Martin.

While the Laksa Assam is an original creation of Madam Khoo, the Laksa Lemak (Siamese) is an original creation of Mrs Ewe. Yes! Both laksa variants originated from Balik Pulau.

I had the Laksa Lemak because it is my favourite. I really enjoyed the laksa. I find the taste less sweet than other laksa dishes. The sardine fish pieces are chunky and its flesh is sweet. The portion is just nice. I also sampled the assam laksa soup from my wife dish and I also find it less sweet but aromatic. I remembered Mrs Ewe's original laksa was better but every time I had John & Anne's it seemed to get better.

Balik Pulau is also famed for its Nutmeg juice along with its durian fruits. I ordered the freshly squeezed white nugmeg juice with sour plum. Heavenly!!

I definitely recommend any travellers to Balik Pulau as a must try to this laksa together with the white nutmeg juice.

Durianology

It's the durian season in Penang and one spot on the island is beaming with the fruit. Known as the King of Fruits is abudant in Balik Pulau (south-weat corner of the island). So for all true durian lovers, here is a list of well known types of durian available in Balik Pulau. Now we have a reference of what to order and not look so dumb when comes the time to order. I wondered where is D24?

Thanks to an unknown author (I got the facts from an e-mail chain circulating in the internet) who decided to record all the types of durian he encountered during AsiaExplorers Durian Feast in 2007..... Enjoy! Feast your eyes and wipe off that drool!